When margins tighten, farm management decisions become even more important. Yet some of the toughest decisions producers face aren't driven by markets, weather, or policy—they're shaped by human behaviour. On this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, host Shaun Haney speaks with Ben Brown, agricultural economist at the University of Missouri, about the... Read More
Category: Finance
Total Canadian farm cash receipts breached the $100 billion mark for the first time in record history in 2025. However, surging expenses and soft crop markets kept a lid on overall profitability, as national realized net farm income was down slightly in 2025. According to data released by Statistics Canada on May 27, realized net... Read More
The federal government is extending the higher interest-free portion on cash advances for 2026. Coinciding with the start of the government's new fiscal year on April 1, Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald announced the interest-free limit under the Advance Payments Program (APP) for 2026 will be maintained at $250 thousand for non-canola advances. By default in... Read More
There's no doubt farm profitability is really strained heading into the 2026 growing season, with stubborn variable- and fixed-cost structures and weak commodity prices. When margins are constricted, financials get squeezed, and it puts pressure on banking relationships. In January, eighty-two per cent of Canadian farmers surveyed through the Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index told RealAgristudies... Read More
The rate at which grain farming costs have escalated over the last five years is more than double Canada’s overall inflation rate, according to analysis looking at Manitoba farmers' costs. Both the Bank of Canada's inflation calculator and Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index gauge inflation from 2020 to 2025 at around 20 per cent. However,... Read More
Thanks for tuning in to the Mind Your Farm Business podcast! In this episode, host Shaun Haney is joined by Ursina Studhalter, chartered professional accountant, author of Farming Frontiers substack, and sheep farmer, for a practical conversation on the not-so-glamorous — but absolutely essential — task of farm bookkeeping. From managing receipts to choosing accounting... Read More
For this episode of The Truth About Ag, we’re tackling the theme “Fear Sells—Who’s Buying?” Evan Shout is joined by Todd Andries, MNP's Dean Klippenstine, and U.S. farmer Rich Bronec for a wide-ranging roundtable on what’s really happening in agriculture as 2025 winds down. From land transitions and rental opportunities to rising fertilizer costs, shifting... Read More
High input costs and market volatility continue to challenge farm margins across Canada. While interest rates and inflation have eased somewhat compared to last year, production costs remain high, and profitability is still difficult to achieve. Growers are having to pay closer attention to every dollar spent, from operating costs to investment decisions. Holli Frey,... Read More
When the going is good, it’s tempting to focus on growth and measure success by the size of your acreage. But is bigger always better? In this episode of the Mind Your Farm Business podcast, host Shaun Haney is joined by Dean Klippenstine of MNP for a conversation that challenges the thinking that bigger is... Read More
In this episode of The Truth About Ag podcast, co-hosts Kristjan Hebert and Evan Shout sit down with Jace Young, founder and CEO of Legacy Farmer, to take a hard look at the financial side of agriculture and why it’s so often misunderstood. They talk about why so few people are giving farmers solid financial... Read More